I meant to pop in yesterday to post quickly, but didn’t manage to find the time in between classes and practice. The class schedule is slightly less busy today, but that doesn’t mean my day isn’t any less hectic!

This morning started off with some blueberries and a coffee, sweetened with hazelnut creamer.

After my shower I put together the rest of my meal, which consisted of a peanut butter cup protein smoothie! I didn’t have a frozen banana to add, which meant that my smoothie wasn’t super creamy, but fortunately that also meant that I wasn’t left shivering after drinking it! (This is a good thing because although it’s currently sunny outside, the temperature is Arctic-like).

In the blender went:

1 oversized scoop Vanilla protein powder

1 scoop (maybe 3-4 Tbsp?) PB2 (so good in smoothies!)

1 banana

~1 cup plain 0% Greek yogurt

water

Sadly I didn’t have any frozen bananas, which make smoothies infinitely better, but next time!

I also made a smoothie for breakfast yesterday, and was able to bring it with me to finish during class, which I loved! My Oster Blender lets you blend the smoothie right in the to-go container, which you take off when done blending, and snap on the drinking attachment!

I couldn’t decide if I felt like a 4 year old with her to-go breakfast, or like a husky guy with his protein shake. Ehh, either way, doesn’t matter to me :).

Time to run off to squash now! I’m hitting with our assistant coach in the morning, because I’m teaching spin later this afternoon and won’t have time to hit later.

Speaking of which, I am loving Alex Adair’s remix of Ed Sheeran’s Thinking Out Loud. Have a listen!

And if the embedded link below isn’t working, click here for the Youtube link: Thinking Out Loud

At some point when I have tried enough brands and flavours, I am going to write a comprehensive post, outlining my favourites and their best “uses”. (Hint: I never make plain, boring protein shakes!).

That being said, I am always on the lookout for new protein powders. In general, I have 3 main criteria I follow when assessing a protein powder:

Ingredients: Basically, if the ingredient list is ridiculously long, and I can’t pronounce the names, I don’t go for it. I know there’s probably going to be some unnatural stuff in there- I just try to make sure there’s not a lot.

Protein and sugar content: I like to try and find protein powders that have at least 18-20g of protein per serving. (Most vegan protein powders will only have ~15g protein per serving, whereas whey protein powders can have upwards of 20g per serving). Also, when it comes to sugar content, I like powders that have ~8 g or less per serving. Ideally less than 5 is best, but sometimes you gotta take what you can get!

Taste: I really cannot emphasize just how important taste is when it comes to protein powder. If it’s chalky, acidic, or just plain weird tasting, it’ll sit in my cupboard for ages. I’d might as well enjoy what I’m eating, right?

So when Myprotein contacted me a little while ago, asking if I would try and review one of their products, of course I jumped at the chance. Another protein powder to try? Sign me up!

I picked up the bag on my way down to practice, and didn’t hesitate to open the cardboard box up right away in the locker room. There were quite a few laughs when I opened the box up to find not a sample, but rather a monster-sized 5.5 pound bag of chocolate flavoured impact whey protein powder!

I’ve since been gradually working my way through the ginormous bag, testing it to see what its particular “use” will be. The verdict?

A good old chocolate smoothie!

Although I generally put protein powder in everything (homemade bars, yogurt, oatmeal, even hot chocolate sometimes), I found that this worked best mixed in a smoothie. (If you’re looking for “healthier” ways to incorporate chocolate and/or protein powder into your diet, check out my post Healthy Chocolate for ideas!).

Myprotein Impact Whey Protein: The Verdict

Ingredients: On the whole, decent! Sure there’s some sucralose and artificial flavouring in there, but all in all, the ingredient list is short.

I transferred some of the protein powder into a smaller bag for easier access.

Protein content: When comparing calories per serving to protein content, MyProtein gets a very good score. It’s only 90 calories per scoop, and offers 18 g of protein! Plus, only 1 g of sugar per serving- you really can’t beat that one.

Taste: I’m very picky when it comes to protein powders. While Myprotein wasn’t the most versatile powder I’ve encountered (keep in mind I put protein powder in everything so I’m a harsh critic!), I was really pleased that it blended well in smoothies. Chocolate smoothies is one of my favourite ways to enjoy chocolate protein powder, so I’m totally cool having basically an unlimited supply of smoothie mix 🙂 .

Ironically, I think I managed to snag a ride from a friend after practice so I didn’t have to walk back carrying a 5.5 lb bag of protein powder. Ehhhhh I’d already done my workout for the day! 😉

Questions:

Do you use protein powder, and if so what do you look for in a protein powder?

Since today is my last day at home, I was really hoping that I would be able to sleep in at least past 8:30 or 9 am. Sadly, this was not the case. I gave up, and instead turned to Pinterest, which kept me entertained until my stomach began to rumble.

Breakfast

On the menu this morning? Chocolate protein smoothie! In the blender went:

1 scoop Vega chocolate protein powder

Silk almond coconut milk

0% Greek yogurt

3/4 frozen banana

1 spoonful cocoa powder

I also finished off some yesterday’s leftover Peanut Butter Cup smoothie, and am now crunching on some macadamia nuts while I type up this post!

I’ve been an absolute smoothie fiend since Christmas day. Can you guess why?!

We are now proud owners of a Vitamix!!!!

I have always been a huge smoothie-lover, but this crazy machine makes them infinitely better, and more exciting!

Alright since we’re on the topic of smoothies, and since I’m clearly so, so exited about it, let’s tackle a very serious and important question: How do you make the perfect smoothie?

How To Make The Perfect Smoothie

Add fruit (preferably frozen)

I always, always, always put at least one frozen banana in a smoothie. If I don’t , I feel like something’s missing! I also like adding in frozen strawberries or blueberries for more volume and fiber, as well as taste.

Add liquid

I’m a huge fan of using milk (either regular or almond milk) as opposed to water or juice, since I prefer creamy smoothies over tangy (or watery) ones.

A pro to using regular cow’s milk is that you get about 8g of protein per cup, whereas you only get ~1g by using almond milk. However, cow’s milk has roughly 100 calories per 1 cup serving, whereas unsweetened almond milk only has 35-40! For me it comes down to convenience. If I have almond milk on hand, I’ll usually use it because I can’t taste the difference in a smoothie, but if I’m drinking it straight, I’d rather enjoy a glass of regular milk.

Add protein

Usually I will put in either Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, and I always put in protein powder. By doing so, not only do I get protein from both, but I also get extra creaminess from the yogurt/cottage cheese, and great taste from the powder!

Add (healthy) fat

When I want to kick up the richness of a smoothie, I tend to gravitate towards nut butters. I love adding peanut butter (duh) or cashew butter to a smoothie to make it more satisfying and taste a little more like ice cream!

I’ve also found that avocado is delicious in smoothies, so if you’re allergic to nuts (or love avocado), I highly recommend trying this fruit!

Optional: Add spinach!

I add spinach to my smoothies whenever I can, because I get a huge kick out of sneaking vegetables into dishes! Eating spinach that tastes like chocolate? Sign me up!

Yes, it tends to give a slightly (or not so slight) green hue, but if you can get past that, you’re on your way to health-guru stardom! I promise you can’t taste it at all, and if your blender is at all competent, it will grind the leaves such that they are completely undetectable.

Dang, after all that I’m now feeling like I should go make another smoothie for lunch! Well, in about 4 hours when this smoothie-rock finally digests… 🙂

Goooood Wednesday morning, and merry Christmas Eve! Can you believe it’s December 24th already? When I was younger, the days seemed to get longer and longer as Christmas approached, but now I keep so busy that there aren’t enough hours in the day to get everything done!

Which is why, it’s December 24th and I still have a little bit of Christmas shopping to do. Oops.

Switching gears a little bit now…

Last night I was checking out my Instagram feed and stumbled upon this delicious looking smoothie from Vega!

When I woke up this morning, I knew exactly what was going to be on the menu: A Green Grinch Smoothie!

I changed up the ingredients a tiny bit by adding Greek yogurt for both protein and creaminess, and absolutely loved the result! This one’s going to be a regular, I can already tell!

And clearly I couldn’t wait to drink it, or stop drinking it in order to take a picture, so this is what’s left…

Creamy Green Smoothie

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

1.5-2 frozen bananas

1 large handful fresh spinach

1/2 avocado

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt (I used 0%, but 2% would be great as well)

2 scoops vanilla protein powder

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the blender, and blend until smooth!

Alrighty I’m off to hang out with some friends, and then I have squash training followed by a bike session! At least I’ll be ready to fall into my pillow tonight, and won’t be snooping around looking for Santa 😉 . Did anyone else do that as a kid?!

Hello, hello, hello! What’s happenin’?! Today’s post is inspired by yesterday’s grocery shopping trip with Nana, where I realized after all this time, “I always buy the exact same snack foods at the grocery store!”. Sometimes I’ll add a fun item to the list if I’m feeling adventurous, but my core items always remain the same.

Basically, I love snacks. I was trying to think of the reasons why I like ’em so much, and I came up with a little list:

Snacks go with pretty much any social setting (a movie, sports games, road trips… you name it)

However, although I dooooo like my snacking, I do try to keep it on the relatively healthy side, so that I don’t feel lethargic afterwards, and so that I don’t still feel hungry! (As my dad used to say, “Nicole, stop eating those Cheese-Nip cracker things! They are empty calories!”

Now, although I don’t say “no” to Cheese-Nips (they will always hold a special place in my heart), I make a point not to stock my shelves with them on a regular basis.

So! Here’s my list of go-to foods that I pick up at the store without even thinking twice. (Easy for my brain, bad for my wallet).

Nut Butter

Usually if I’m at school I’ll buy almond or cashew butter to give my stomach a little break from peanut butter. I have, however been known to buy all three both at once.

Cheese (a recent addition)

I’m not talking about pre-shredded TexMex here. I mean good, interesting, flavour infused cheeses- that cots a maximum of $5. For example, a couple of weeks ago I bought a Rosemary infused Asiago, and a smoked Gouda. This week’s choice was a little more adventurous in the looks department…

Pesto Gouda Cheese! Don’t hate, don’t hate, don’t hate- while it does look like some scary green monster invaded the cheese with a fungus, I swear it tastes normal (and delicious).

Nuts (at least 2 kinds)

Because one or two container of nut butters just isn’t enough- you gotta have the real deal!

Lately I’ve been loving these coconut cashews from Trader Joe’s, as well as salted, roasted, Macadamia nuts. I do try to limit my Macadamia nut purchasing because they’re so darn expensive, but once in a while they’re a worthy splurge 🙂

The rate at which I go through Greek yogurt is insane. But seriously, I think I need to either, a) start making my own yogurt, or b) start returning my large yogurt containers straight to the manufacturer because I swear they are wasting sooooo much plastic on me.

Exhibit A: The amount of yogurt I picked up from Wegman’s yesterday. This should last me through the week.

Popcorn (some other salty snack)

I have a slight popcorn addiction, however it kills me that it’s so much more expensive to buy the pre-popped variety. When I’m at home, I try to make my own the old-fashioned way, but when I’m at school I get a little lazy, and usually resort to my faves, Boomchickapop and Chiapop.

Coconut chips

It’s safe to say that I’m addicted to coconut chips, and I can’t wait to have the chance to make them myself (if I can…). Sadly, coconut trees aren’t exactly common in British Columbia, especially in the winter, sooooo my chances of finding a coconut and making this myself are pretty slim. Thankfully, Trader Joe’s and Dang do a pretty good job of keeping my coconut craving satisfied!

Protein Powder

Although I don’t buy protein powder every single time I go to the grocery store, I do make sure that my backpack shelves are always well stocked.

My two current favourite protein powders are Jay Robb, and Vega. They both taste great, and have great nutritional stats without the crazy ingredients. Those criteria are a must for me!

Questions:

Do you have any snack food staples?

Do you like snacking?

Do you snack more now than you used to during other periods of your life?